Shareholder demands final distribution of Bical Bank funds
Cecil Pace, the main shareholder of the defunct Bical Bank has filed a judicial protect against the controller of the bank, Raymond Gatt, calling on him to publish a report of his activities for the past 10 years and to distribute the remaining 20% of the funds due to the depositors.
Pace also called on the MFSA, the Central Bank, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance to ensure that the distribution of funds is completed, now that 40 years have passed since the bank was wound up.
In his protest, Mr Pace recalled how in November 1979, the then Minister of Finance had decided, on advice from the Governor of the Central Bank, to 'temporarily' suspend the operations of Bical. A controller was appointed to administer the bank and safeguard the interests of depositors, creditors and shareholders.
Some 3,000 employees of Bical and its 30 associated companies lost their job because of the poor administration of the controller. The companies and assets, Mr Pace said, included six hotels, seven ships, a shipyard, a large number of properties , Jablo Plastics Ltd and several other entities with an investment of the equivalent of €7 million.
He said that controller Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici was allowed to dispose of the assets with ridiculous prices and he had not collected all that was due to the Bical group. He had also kept insufficient record, other than notes on a copybook.
The next controller, Emanuel Bonello, had found a complete mess in the administration of his predecessor with a substantial amount of funds were missing without explanation.
This controller, Mr Pace claimed, charged exorbitant compensation in order to continue the disposal of the assets but took no action against his predecessor for his shortcoming.
Once his term ended, he did not file a final report. Again, Mr Pace said, the authorities took no action for bad administration.
He recalled that he had taken legal action against the two controllers, having instituted some 20 court cases which have been heard since 1986.
In November 1995 the parliament enacted the Controlled Companies Act which sought to give the government and the controller legal immunity with retroactive effect.
This law, Mr Pace said, would not have been needed had there been good administration.
The Constitutional Court in February 2003 found the law to violate human rights and cases instituted before it came into force should continue to be heard.
Despite this, all the pending cases were recently assigned to one judge. An appeal over this procedure is pending.
Mr Pace complained that the current controller, Raymond Gatt in representation of Gatt Galea & Co, was appointed 10 years ago, and had since then not produced a single report or done anything substantive to distribute the remaining funds and close the matter. He had, however, charged exorbitant fees without producing concrete results.
The authorities had not done any action to ensure that the Bical case was concluded.
Mr Pace said that after 40 years of bad administration by the controllers and a lack of effective supervision by the government and the authorities, he was calling on those responsible to distribute the final 20% due to the depositors since they were being denied access to their property. He also demanded compensation and held them responsible for damages he and his brother (another shareholder) had suffered.
Drs Tonio Azzopardi and Malcolm Pace signed the protest.
Popular Stories
Update 3: Woman found dead in car,...
Updated: Woman dies in car crash
Carm Mifsud Bonnici resigns after...
Part of Dwejra 'Azure window' collapses
The end of the bar that ‘never closed’
Bundy does not know whether to...
Updated - Jason Micallef demands...
This WAS the night - Kurt makes it...
'No need for early election if PM's...
In Discussion
Updated - Jason Micallef demands...
Gozo tunnel could take 5-7 years to...
CABS remote controlled aircraft shot...
Carm Mifsud Bonnici resigns after...
Joseph Calleja condemns portrayal of...
Second group of migrants arrives
Updated: Labour would give...
CABS drone shot down
Adrian Vassallo in scathing...
17 Comments
Post comment
Please sign in or create your Account to post comments.
Rocco Camilleri
Dec 13th 2011, 09:54
I wonder whether this long case is going to be over prescribed as said in the case of Raymond Caruana ( Gudja Case) by lawyers.
John Caruana
Dec 13th 2011, 08:49
For all to know. Around 1992 the then Controller issued, for the then Minister of Finance, an extensive report on BICAL and all its subsidiaries describing in detail all the transactions that took place from 1972 till 1991. I suggest that a copy of these reports are obtained and read and then comments made.
If i am not mistaken the depositors recouped 80% of their deposits (without interest) with the bank. The last of these payouts again if memory serves me right happened twenty years ago. I was under the impression that the remaining 20% was also paid out (again without interest) but i stand to be corrected on this point.
One has to bear in mind that apart from the depositors having their funds registered as such with the bank there was an equal number of people who deposited money with the bank but their funds never appeared on the bank books.
As for the court cases still outstanding for forty years - yes it is a disgrace and they should be concluded soon for all concerned - the present controller, Cecil Pace and the depositors.
Joseph Ellul
Dec 13th 2011, 07:11
All this happened when Mintoff and his gang aimed at every major private business, bank and property and also emptied the gold reserves of the Maltese People. This was done as an excuse for fair distribution of wealth. Everybody knows where all this wealth went.
The PN should open up the books and investigate who and where has the gold.
Who is going to throw the first stone ?
julian caruana
Dec 13th 2011, 14:36
pn can not do that, cause they are inside the glass house too my friend....
Ms.D. Galea
Dec 12th 2011, 21:24
Justice delayed is justice denied.
Steve Sant
Dec 12th 2011, 21:01
Yes, indeed Mr.Pace was imprisoned 15 years for nothing, on a whim and a dare by the Dictator of the day. How come justice was never been done, with so many people in politics today crying out democracy, I sometimes wonder about our politicians. Do we really need them, where has Justice gone ?. Has she been blinded forever. in the hands of the criminal, we are all insane.
julian caruana
Dec 12th 2011, 20:34
it would be very interesting to find out WHO has those assets NOW????? ships property and companies sucessfull to this day ??? who is supporting these or shall i say this new big fat cat ? an old cat that has his finger in every pie on the island and blessing of both parties.
people talk about what lorry sant did but this is worse and people keep on suffering and the once on the wrong side of justice ( note i did not say law ) getting richer by the second,
how come no one speaks or writes about this scandal???
is any body out there?? ha;llo hallo hallo
Gerry Cowie
Dec 12th 2011, 20:18
Cecil Pace has been fighting for years to push the authorities into acting on this issue. They seem to be dragging it all out and sitting on funds which could be distributed, whilst charges continue to be taken, thereby reducing the funds available all the time.
Cecil suffered years in prison for nothing, and successfully cleared his name over time. So he has nothing to feel guilty about.
Questions still need to be aimed at the Labour administration at the time as to why Mr Pace was incarcerated unnecessarily for such a long time. And the present government needs to grab the bull by the horns and end the delays that have been built into the process, giving justice to all concerned, including Mr Pace himself.
Steve Sant
Dec 12th 2011, 19:58
Mr.D.A.Agius, 40 years seems not enough. There are various pending issues not just BICAL, but the ridiculous 1939 Rent Laws, The National Bank of Malta and many more. It seems that this administration (I won't write what I should because the Times vets the wording and don't print the comment) is just as guilty as its predecessor. An accomplice to a crime not yet solved. Justice delayed is Justice denied.
D. A . Agius
Dec 12th 2011, 20:26
It's not administrations, it's a political system bent on gaining power for a few years to appease supporters rather then getting tangible results.
From the recent activity of prospective Ministers and PM one cannot have much hope, it's only a case of chairs changing occupants.
What is the alternative? Beats me so far...
Ivan Mizzi
Dec 12th 2011, 19:44
"Bical, what Bical?"......... just as Stalin told Churchill and Roosevelt during the Yalta talks regarding the treatment of German prisoners of war....."prisoners, what prisoners?"
George Cauchi
Dec 12th 2011, 19:43
This case has become a joke. I am sorry for those who lost their funds because they are not laughing. I think they should go international on this case so the world sees how serious we are in looking after other people's money. This is not a matter of politics. Successive Governments had ample time to rectify matters.
vella m
Dec 12th 2011, 19:04
only in Malta .
D. A . Agius
Dec 12th 2011, 18:40
PL has been out of office since 1987. If Government had some will to sort out the emss, 24 years should have been enough
Joe Vella
Dec 12th 2011, 19:36
D.A. Agius, what are you suggesting that the Government should interfere with the courts? There were times that took place, where even the Constitutional Court was suspended, when the Courts decision was not to the liking of the PL Government of the day. Thank God those days are gone. I sympathise with the shareholders of the Bic Bank; who are the victims of the atrocities of the them PL government of Dom Mintoff.
D. A . Agius
Dec 12th 2011, 20:23
Dear Mr. Vella,
I believe that Justice delayed is Justice Denied. No excuses.
Interfering with the courts would be quite acceptable if this meant checking out why such a process takes DECADES rather than months and providing any needed assistance.
This applies to any case, both Civil and Criminal courts. I have been summoned to cases a couple of years after an "incident" happened and simply remembering certain facts is kind of hard after two years.
Now try to patch up things a decade or two later. Maybe it's easier in a case where only paper trails are needed (seems not to be the BICAL case) but it definitely does not work in cases where personal memories of events are put into question.
M Cassar
Dec 12th 2011, 18:22
Perhaps one should concentrate on this and leave neutrality to the experts?
''He said that controller Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici was allowed to dispose of the assets with ridiculous prices and he had not collected all that was due to the Bical group. He had also kept insufficient record, other than notes on a copybook.
The next controller, Emanuel Bonello, had found a complete mess in the administration of his predecessor with a substantial amount of funds were missing without explanation.''